Masquerade
by Ethril
Summary: Alternate universe. Sesshomaru is a successful, if elusive, CEO of a major cooperation. Jennifer is a quiet professor who uses an alias for her published works. Jennifer wants to let loose her wild side and Sesshomaru is bored with his life. more inside
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: So anyone willing to sell the rights to Inu-Yasha to me? Until such time, I do not own Inu-Yasha.

Masquerade

Prologue

By: Ethril

"Good morning and welcome to back to Book worm!" applause sounds from the audience and the host waves her hands in welcome. "We have a very special program for all of you today! A new book for you to digest. That's right folks, the new Nova Novel has been released!" Another round of applause and some loud cheers.

"Jane Nova has released yet another brilliant tale of intrigue, self discovery, and adventure. In this sequel to 'In Demand' our main character Suzanne continues her journey through time to find the lost guardian." The host picks up one of the copies sitting on the table next to her.

"Brilliantly written, 'A Sure Thing' is a must read. Unfortunately, we have been unable to convince Jane to come in for an interview, but she did send us this letter to read to you."

The host clears her throat and pulls out a folded piece of paper. "I apologize for not being able to come in person, but circumstances have been keeping me busy. I wanted to tell everyone there on Book Worm that I've dedicated 'A Sure Thing' to all my fabulous fans. Your letters and emails have been very inspirational and have kept me going on all the long and exasperating nights.

I think my publisher would have strangled me if it weren't for all of you and your support. So here's a sneak peak into the future of Suzanne Hollister: Suzanne finds the guardian alright, but it's not who she thinks it is. The guardian leads her to her home world, but the time stream has been changed too much. Suzanne no longer exists. Blaming himself for what has happened; the guardian suggests an alternate life style for Suzanne.

Well that's about it folks! Enjoy my new book and keep an eye out next year for the final book in the trilogy: "No More Goodbyes".

"Well there you have it everybody. A look into the third book, and right after the release of the second. Can't wait to see what you come up with next Jane. Next up after this commercial break: "Fiction and History, a fine line" by Trevor Jones."

The television was shut off and a woman sighed from her couch. "Can you believe that? Not even a day out and already people are making a big fuss." Jennifer said from her seat in her studio apartment.

"Don't blame them; you kind of set yourself up for it." The black haired man commented from her right. He was wearing a purple shirt and baggy black pants. His hair was pulled back into a short ponytail.

Jennifer laughed and stood up with a stretch. "I guess. But who can blame me? Look at what happened to J.K. Rowling!"

"Money, fame, and a movie deal." Miroku sighed longingly.

"Yeah and her life criticized and her books judged every which way." Jennifer said with her hands on her hips.

"They already do that to your books." Miroku countered.

"But they don't judge my life." Jennifer answered with a grin.

The two laughed and left the small apartment for their night on the town. "You know you're lucky you're so inconspicuous," Miroku said as he linked arms with Jennifer. "Or else my girlfriend would get jealous."

"You mean that girl you've been pinning after since I first started teaching here what…3 years ago?" Jennifer asked.

"Sango loves me; she just doesn't want anyone to know yet." Miroku said with a grin and a shrug.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll believe it when I see it." Jennifer grinned. The two friends walked on down the streets of night time Tokyo. They had a few bars to hit and a couple clubs to surf. Anything to get a fun and wild night.

A/N: here's the prologue for what I hope will be an interesting story. I'll be posting chapter 1 right after this so enjoy.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha or anything pertaining to Inu-Yasha. As much as I would love to own them I don't. Maybe I can buy some shares or something; anyone have info on that?

Masquerade

Chapter 1: And so it begins

By: Ethril

"Come on Jennifer, you know you want to," the teasing male voice said from behind the brown haired girl. His hand went out and encircled her waist, making Jennifer giggle. The pair was walking down the street of night time Tokyo. The city lights were blazing around them and noise from the cars blasted through the air.

"That's what you think Miroku!" Jennifer said as she slipped from his arm and spun around to face him. She pressed her hands behind her back and stuck her tongue out at her closest friend.

The two laughed and continued on. They were cutting through the park to get back to Jennifer's apartment. "You know Jen, you really should be yourself more often." Miroku said as he leaned against her car door. Jen rolled her eyes as she pulled the seat belt over her shoulder.

"I am myself. Same time next week?" Jennifer asked as she slipped her key into the ignition. She waited for her friends reply.

"You're lucky you're cute," Miroku said with a wink. "Same place, as always." With that Miroku shut her door and tapped the top of her car.

Jennifer smiled and pulled out of her parking spot, heading into traffic on her way back to her apartment. It was long past 2am when she finally arrived. Her eyes felt heavy as she parked and locked her car in its designated spot. Jennifer half stumbled up the stairs of her apartment building and then tripped across the threshold of her apartment. It was all she could do to kick off her shoes and fall onto her bed.

Her apartment was a simple studio, just large enough for her to be comfortable in. She didn't need anything more then the studio. It had a comfortable kitchen and a washer and dryer in a closet to the side of the kitchen.

She didn't know how long she laid there, spread eagle on her bed. With a moan she finally sat up and pulled off her shirt and skirt. Jennifer tried to fall asleep, but the heavenly oblivion avoided her. Miroku's words haunted her for an unknown amount of time. Jennifer was herself, wasn't she? Sure she was a little quieter during the day and she tended to avoid people during the daylight, but that was a part of who she was. Sleep became harder and harder the longer she thought about it.

By the time Jennifer came up with an answer for herself the dawn light was streaming in through her window. Jennifer sat up slowly and sighed. Miroku was right. What she was during the day when people were all around her, watching her, judging her, was not who she was when she was out at night with Miroku. Hell, if she was really honest with herself, her day to day life was boring.

So what could she do about it? She couldn't just…change. Jennifer wasn't brave enough to 'let loose'. In fact she used a pen name for her published works. She looked up at the wall behind her television as she contemplated this conundrum. How could she be the person she wanted to be without being uncomfortable?

Jennifer's eyes focused on a silver Venetian mask on a shelf above the TV and an idea came to her. With a grin Jennifer stood up and walked over to the mask. She'd gotten this little mask years ago on a trip to Venice. She lifted the mask from its shelf and her fingers trailed over the tiny bead work. If no one knew who she was, then she could be whoever she wanted to be. Life could be one giant masquerade.

Jennifer grinned and put the mask back. First thing she had to do was to figure out how she could wear a mask without anyone asking questions.

Being the American that she was, Jennifer went straight for the computer and began her search.

Sesshomaru was staring blankly down at the pile of papers on his desk. The shades over his window were drawn and closed and the lights were off. He'd locked the door to his office to allow himself a few hours of uninterrupted personal time. His eyes went from the paperwork to the crescent moon pendant that was lying to one side of his desk. Clawed fingers tapped over and over on his desk.

Sesshomaru sighed and went back to shuffling through the papers. He signed a few here and there, read through others, and still more he swept from his desk and into the shredder. Thus was the life Sesshomaru Taisho, CEO of Taisho industries. He was so very bored with his life.

There was a long been from the phone on his desk "Mr. Taisho, you're 2 o'clock is here to speak with you." The voice of his lovely secretary said in a melodic voice. When he had first hired her, he had thought her beauty would distract him from his boring work. Now though she bored him just as much as everything else.

"Send him in." Sesshomaru said as he slipped the moon pendant over his head. His silver hair darkened to black and his amber eyes dulled to a light brown. He could feel his claws shrink and his fangs recede.

Within minutes yet another executive that Sesshomaru had to deal with walked into his office. The visiting executive had to adjust to the dim lighting of the office, Sesshomaru wasn't going to open the shades or turn up the ceiling lights for anyone.

The meeting went by quickly and Sesshomaru dismissed the weak little man. The human had come hoping to trick Sesshomaru out of a great deal of money, but had in turn been the one to lose a great deal. Again Sesshomaru was left alone in his dim office, bored.

As if on a whim he tapped his computer screen on. He checked the usual news reports and went to the more obscure websites. The internet was an interesting thing; it allowed demons to communicate with one another without worrying that humans would find out. Chatrooms, forums, social networking, all these things were useful.

Sesshomaru logged onto his own personal forums site and checked through the new members list. His website was geared towards people looking for advice on running a business. He found that it was extremely useful to watch small businesses; one never knew when a revolutionary business was getting started. Sesshomaru had even been the first person to discover some of the now world famous companies. It was all a matter of paying attention and planning.

There were quite a few new members to his site; one name caught his attention though. Jane Nova was a famous author and he'd read several of her books over the years. She'd even written several essays about mythological creatures that he'd found interesting. It was possible that it was just a fan using the author's name, which had happened before.

Sesshomaru went to check out the supposed author's posts. They were the typical questions; how do I start a business, do I need to rent or buy a building, how much does a business usually cost to start. One was interesting though. The author was asking about how to start a business as confidentially as possible. Sesshomaru read through the responses and sighed. Some answers were helpful, but others not so much. It would seem that not many people knew how to start a business anonymously.

After thinking about it for some time, Sesshomaru waved a hand over a censor and a laser light keyboard flashed over his desk. He tapped over his desk, and as his fingers blocked a point in the laser the letters appeared on the computer screen.

Sesshomaru paused and looked at what he had written. The advice was sound and simple, and it would help him judge what kind of person this 'Jane nova' was. With a click of his mouse the message was sent.

Jennifer was taking a sip from her orange juice as she reread what she had just written. She had a deadline to meet with her new novel, and she was thirty pages away from meeting it. Her computer gave a three beep melody and Jennifer saved her work. Switching programs, she went over to the internet browser and grinned as she saw she already had a response to her forum posts. Her grin slowly faded as she looked through all the responses. Most of them she already knew, they were common sense.

Finally Jennifer sighed and lowered her head to her desk. She really shouldn't expect too much, it'd only been a couple hours after all. Jennifer must have dozed off at one point because another three ding melody jolted her awake. She bolted up and looked at the screen. The forums site she had joined hours ago was flashing with a private message.

Curious, Jennifer opened up the message. A member by the name of 'Western lord' had shown interest in her question about an anonymously run business.

Jennifer read through the suggestions and frowned as she thought about it. The majority of the response was telling her to find a sponsor or co-owner to start the business. That way she wouldn't have to put her name on anything. Jennifer frowned and began typing. Her main problem was she didn't want the other person to take over everything, who could she prevent that kind of thing.

Once her concerns were listed out she sent the reply. She sat back and wondered how long it would take to get a response. Jennifer nodded off again, her head lolling back against the back of her chair.

Sesshomaru heard a ding from his computer and he paused in signing another document. An eyebrow rose as he set the pen back and he went to look at the new message. The Jane Nova had replied quickly and he was pleasantly surprised to see that the person was genuinely concerned about how to run a business.

The discussion continued on for some time and Sesshomaru was impressed by how interested the person was. Soon the responses went from business, to personal. "So where are you living now Miss Nova?"

Jennifer smiled and leaned back in her chair. Her keyboard was in her lap as she sent her reply. "Right now? In a little apartment in downtown Tokyo," Jennifer hesitated just a moment before sending the reply. Her publicist had told her in the past not to reveal her location, in order to keep her identity secret.

Sesshomaru's eyebrows shot up into his hairline when the reply came. With how large the world was, Jane Nova had to be living here in Japan? Then again the likely hood that this was Jane Nova was slim. "I heard you were living in Arizona."

Jennifer laughed and rubbed her eyes. Great, this guy was a fan. She supposed he read all the tabloids about her. The most recent ones claimed she was in Arizona after all. "I don't much like the desert. You'd know that if you read the interviews."

It was Sesshomaru's turn to laugh. It had been a trick question. He had read the interviews and knew various things about the mysterious Jane Nova. "So what kind of business were you thinking about starting?" He asked a smile on his lips. This was the most fun he'd had in days.

Jennifer frowned and sighed. "To be honest? I don't know. I want to do something where I'm physically involved, but I want to be able to wear a mask. I have a reputation to think of after all."

Jane Nova was well known for her secretive nature. The only way to ever to in contact with the elusive Jane Nova was through her publisher. "I can understand the need to remain in the shadows," Sesshomaru wrote. "I'm the CEO of a major cooperation and only my secretary gets to see me on a regular basis."

Jennifer tilted her head in interest at this. "That's more then people see of me. Then again, people don't know what I look like. I could be standing right in front of them and they'll never know." She felt a pang of sadness about this. Now that she'd thought about it extensively, Jennifer did want to do more with her life.

"I bet I would know." Sesshomaru commented.

Jennifer laughed and instantly replied. "I bet you wouldn't"

"How much do you want to bet?" Sesshomaru asked quickly. If he was ever going to find out who Jane Nova was, now was his chance.

"How about the first copy of my next book? With my autograph of course." Jennifer said, caught up in her discussion with the person on the other side of the computer screen.

"Done! What do you want if you win?" Sesshomaru asked hurriedly.

Jennifer frowned and she thought about it for a few minutes. "I'll decide that when I win." She added the winking icon just for fun.

"Do you know where Sakura chiyo is?" Sessohmaru asked. He chuckled at the winking icon.

"Sure, just off of Keio University." Jennifer would know that, she'd put in an application there for a literature professor position.

"Meet me there in 5 hours. I'll be wearing a white and red shirt and dark sunglasses." And with that Sesshomaru logged off of his forums site. Now he had research to do. He needed to learn everything about Jane Nova that he could find, and then figure out why she would want to stay secretive. And the best way? Read her books. It was a damned good thing he was a demon, he could read an entire book in a half hour.

Jennifer stared at the computer screen for a few minutes. She looked at the last message over and over and the impact of what she'd agreed too hit her hard. She'd just agreed to meet some random stranger as her alias 'Jane Nova'. Then again, he didn't know what she looked like! And she hadn't told him what she'd be wearing. Jennifer would go, look around, and then leave.

As she showered and then meticulously picked out her clothes for the day, Jennifer felt a thrill down her spine. This was the most…wild thing she'd ever done in her life! Safe, calm, carefully Jenny was going out and meeting a stranger off the internet. For what? Because she'd had a good conversation with him about business.

The rational part of her mind was able to squeeze into her excitement and Jennifer sent a text to Miroku. It was simple, telling him she was going to go out with lunch with a new acquaintance and that she'd call him later. If there was one thing people knew about her, it was that she always kept her word.

In the end Jennifer dressed in a simple off the shoulder blue shirt and jeans. She clipped back her shoulder length brown hair and looked in the mirror. Normally Jennifer didn't wear make up, but today she decided on a light pink lip gloss and a light blue eye shadow to go with the shirt. She then looked at the counter. She looked from her contacts to her glasses. She usually only wore her contacts at night when she went out with Miroku. Day time would be hell on her eyes with the pollution in the air and the pollen. So her glasses won over the contacts.

Jennifer glanced at her watch and then went to the door. She had a couple hours left and she wanted to get to the café early. Traffic would be bad so she'd take the train instead. With that plan in mind, she left her apartment and got into her car. She'd park at the transit center and go from there.

Sesshomaru was fairly close to the café, so he didn't have to worry about getting there late. In the time being though, he had research to finish. An hour away from his meeting with the allusive Jane Nova and he'd finished seven of her novels, 10 short stories, and almost all of her interviews and articles. From what he'd learned about her, her female characters favored European features with dark hair and light eyes. Some started out as shy girls whose lives are tossed upside down and they have to change to survive. Others were wild and brave, but unsure of how to get through the quests put before them.

There were other character types, but those two stood out. Most authors wrote about what they knew, and he doubted Jane Nova was any different. He made a mental picture for who he should be looking for. Sesshomaru pictured an average sized woman with probably brown hair. She'd be wearing nice clothes, enough to make her feel nice, but not enough to make her noticeable. If he went with the stereotype, she'd be wearing glasses or keep her hair up in a pony tail or bun. She'd be hesitant, but observant.

"Yura, cancel my appointments for the rest of the day." Sesshomaru said over his phone. There was an answer, but he didn't pay attention. Sesshomaru grabbed his jacket and left out his personal elevator. He didn't like attracting attention, so he had a personal route in and out of his building.

Sesshomaru glanced around and slipped his sunglasses on. It was a typical summer day, and the sun was blazing overhead. He debated for a moment to either walk or drive over, settling on walking. He was only a few blocks away and it wouldn't hurt to get some exercise.

Sesshomaru arrived a few minutes early and glanced around subtly. He was over 700 years old and he had plenty of practice being stealthy. It was 2pm by this time and the café was full of people. Sesshomaru waited in line for a few minutes, the entire time looking around. There were plenty of women waiting around and he quickly picked out the single women. He was able to narrow that number down by picking out the women who were too loud or sticking out from the crowd.

A young woman in a blue shirt sitting by the window caught his attention. He watched her from the corner of his eye. She was looking out the window, with a far away look in her eyes.

Jennifer had arrived a good hour early. To pass the time, she'd brought her small notebook with her to work on her story. Time flew as she was visualizing the life story of her newest character. As was typical for her, her eyes unfocused and she began sleeping with her eyes open. So she completely missed it when a man in a white and red shirt walked in wearing sunglasses.

"So when does the story hit the shelves?" A voice asked from one side of her.

Still in her dream world, Jennifer answered without thinking. "A year in a half if I can get past this block." She blinked several times and then sucked in her breath. She looked up slowly.

Sesshomaru couldn't help the slow grin as he looked into the wide, blue eyes. It was like looking into the eyes of a surprised rabbit. He slid a hot chocolate next to her and sat down. "So I'll keep you to your end of the bet then?"

Jennifer was still in shock. She'd lost; just like that, all because he'd caught her off guard. This man knew her real identity and she didn't eve know if she could trust him.

As if reading her mind, Sesshomaru tilted her head. "I won't tell anyone. Like I told you, I understand the need for confidentiality."

Jennifer released the breath she'd been holding. "So how'd you figure it out? You're not the first person that's asked to meet me."

Sesshomaru smiled minutely. "You put yourself in your books. In various interviews you've admitted to daydreaming while writing. You also said you prefer hot chocolate over coffee."

Jennifer laughed and picked up the hot beverage. "It's a bit of a hot day for hot chocolate." She grinned as she blew at the top of the liquid. She then set the cup down and spooned some ice cubs into it from her water.

"Doesn't stop people from drinking coffee during heat waves." Sesshomaru replied as he sipped at his own hot coffee.

"Touché."

"So," Sesshomaru leaned back in his seat. "Still interested in starting a business?"

Jennifer sipped at her cooling drink and closed her notebook. "Perhaps, why?"

"Oh I might have a few suggestions." Sesshomaru tipped his sunglasses over.

Jennifer leaned her elbows on the table and a sparkle of her wild side showed through her blue eyes. "Got some place a little more private to talk?"

"Of course I do." Sesshomaru leaned forward and put an arm on the table. "Personal or business, pick your poison."

"Surprise me."

The two stood up at the same time and Sesshomaru lead the way out of the café. This really was the most fun he'd had in decades.

A/N: Soooo…I had this wild dream one night about a woman who decides she wants to let out her wild side and starts a business. She takes her two cousins out on the town and her cousins are bored. So she drives them to a club called "Masquerade" And tells them she'll be in after she parks. The club opens and the cousins go in. Inside is a giant dance club with a mini restaurant and a stage for performances. Ten minutes in and a masked woman in a Lolita skirt and strapless black shirt comes up on stage and begins introducing their guest performer for the night.

Then a masked lady gaga comes up on stage and starts singing Poker face.

Yeah it was an interesting dream.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha.

Masquerade

Chapter 2:

By: Ethril

"So where are we going?" Jennifer asked lightly as she followed the tall dark haired man down the street and away from the cafe. As they walked, she took the time to really look at the man she had met. He was tall, taller then any man she'd ever met. His hip length black hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. His light brown eyes were calm, but focused. His clothes were pristine and tailored made for his well defined body. Jennifer felt rather bland next to him.

While Jennifer was admiring Sesshomaru, he was doing the same. He glanced at her from his peripheral vision. The first thing that Sesshomaru took note of was the fact that definitely didn't look Japanese; despite the Japanese fashion she was wearing. Her hair was a medium brown with auburn highlights. It fell in thick waves a little past her shoulders. The woman next to him had an olive complexion and blue gray eyes. Her glasses were an interesting touch to her appearance and Sesshomaru wondered what she would look like without them.

"We're going to my office. It's very secure and I have paper work there that will interest you." Sesshomaru replied as he grasped his hands behind his back.

Silence spread between them as they walked through the crowds along the side walk. Jennifer eeped softly as someone bumped into her and made her stumble. An arm went around her shoulders to keep her from falling and she felt herself pulled against the side of the man she'd just met. Jennifer smiled warmly and blushed. "Thanks."

Sesshomaru nodded, but didn't look down at her. "It's just up ahead. We'll go through the side entrance. I have a personal elevator up to my office."

Jennifer frowned slightly. Who was this guy? The building he was taking her too was large and the people coming in and out were in expensive suits. Jennifer felt very much under dressed as the man adjusted his arm from his shoulder and to her elbow. "This way." She heard him say as he turned her towards a little used door.

Jennifer looked around and was a little intimidated by the two burly security guards standing just inside of the doorway. Once again she wondered just who this guy was.

"You coming?" He asked as he stepped forward towards an elevator down the hall. Jennifer blushed and quickly followed after him.

The elevator ride up felt like it took forever. During the entire ride up, Sesshomaru kept glancing at Jennifer. The woman was rocking slightly on the tips of her toes, glancing around and looking everywhere except at him. For some reason, he found this amusing.

Jennifer almost sighed in relief when the elevator doors opened and she followed Sesshomaru out. He went to behind his desk and she stood awkwardly in the middle of the large office.

The office was dimly lit. The floor was carpeted with a fluffy crimson carpet and the walls were a dark marble color. Jennifer had a momentary feeling of wanting to take off her shoes just so she could feel the carpet against her feet.

"So Miss Nova, shall we begin?" Sesshomaru asked from behind his desk.

"Smith," Jennifer said automatically. She smiled shyly. "Jane Nova is my pen name. My real name is Jennifer Smith."

"It is a pleasure to meet you then Miss Smith." Sesshomaru said with a smile. He waved for her to take a seat. "I don't think I've introduced myself," Jennifer shook her head. "My name is Sesshomaru Taisho. I'm the CEO of the Taisho Corporation." Sesshomaru placed his hands on his desk and watched as Jennifer took her seat.

"So um…" Jennifer didn't know what to say next honestly. This was the first time she'd ever revealed her alias to someone.

"You expressed interest in starting a business, yes?" Sesshomaru asked as he picked up a file and handed it to her. "The best way to start a confidential business, like I said earlier, is to have an outside source put their name on the documents."

Jennifer listened silently. She took the folder and slowly looked through it. Most of what was in the folder were things she'd already looked at.

"What kind of business did you want to start?" Sesshomaru asked in curiosity.

"A new kind of dance club." Jennifer responded almost immediately. To be honest she hadn't figured it out until that moment. She loved dancing, so why not make a business about it?

Sesshomaru arched a brow in query making Jennifer smile. "What kind of dance club?"

"A masquerade. All employees and guest performers will wear masks and will have code names." Jennifer blushed and her hands fidgeted in her lap. Sesshomaru was giving her such a bemused and curious look.

"I can see why you wanted to keep it confidential." Sesshomaru commented while he began looking through a similar folder to the one he had handed to Jennifer. "I can take care of all the business documentation and permits. What we need to do now is decide on a location." Sesshomaru flipped on his computer screen and was surprised to find a GIF of a red haired teen sticking his tongue out. He sighed and removed the screen saver before the young woman sitting across from him could see it.

"Taisho corporation owns several properties both inside the city and outside," Sesshomaru told her as he began disregarding one after the other until he had a suitable list to present. "I would suggest one of these. If you don't find one acceptable I'm sure we can arrange for the purchase of something that you find suitable."

Jennifer read through the list. "I'll need to go and look at them before I can make a decision." She said offhandedly.

Sesshomaru nodded. At least she seemed serious about this endeavor. If she had been trying to con money from him or some such thing she wouldn't be showing so much enthusiasm and interest.

Jennifer shifted in her seat. A question nagged at her mind. "Why are you doing this?" she asked seriously. "A person doesn't just help another out of the blue. You're a well renown business man; I don't think you would risk funding a random business like this."

Sesshomaru sat back in his seat. This human woman was definitely more observant then others would have been. "You're a famous author," he said as more of a statement of fact then a question. "If you didn't use a pen name what do you think would happen?"

Jennifer didn't even have to think about it. "I'd be swamped with fans. I'd become a celebrity. Every move I make would be scrutinized and judged. I'd never get to be myself or relax." She'd thought about these reasons so many times over the years that it wasn't hard for her to list them.

Sesshomaru nodded. "Like you said, I'm a well renowned business man. I'm watched constantly and my life is so routine and organized I have no time to explore other aspects of life." He sighed and shrugged. "Being the head of security for a dance club would be a welcome change to a CEO of a major corporation."

Jennifer blinked. "Head of security?"

Sesshomaru nodded. "A physical job is just what I need."

Planning continued for several more hours before Sesshomaru suggested that maybe it was time to go and take a look at the properties.

"Sounds like a plan, let me just look up the train schedules." Jennifer preferred taking the train as much as possible. Mass transit was a much cleaner form of travel in a busy city. She looked up just in time to see a look of disgust on Sesshomaru's face. "What's wrong with taking the train?"

"I have a private car. Travel will be much faster with it." He pressed down on a button on his desk. "Yura call for my car to be brought around to the front please." There was a feminine response and he released the button.

Jennifer was about to argue again when she bit her lip. A car would be faster, but she'd need to get back to the transit center eventually to pick up her own vehicle. She shrugged mentally; Jennifer would take care of that when she got to it.

There was an answer on the phone and Sesshomaru rose from his seat. "Shall we then?" He held out his arm to indicate for her to leave first. Jennifer stood with a smile.

"Are you always such a gentleman?" Jennifer asked jokingly as she went into the elevator. Sesshomaru followed after her and then pressed the button for the ground floor. He quirked a brow at her and glanced down at the brown haired woman. She was simply smiling up at him, unperturbed by his silence.

The ride down was silent and Jennifer was just a tad uncomfortable when the two of them walked into the front Lobby. She wondered for a moment why they hadn't gone out the way they had come. People glanced at them, or at least stared at Sesshomaru. She was a rather plain person next to him.

Jennifer was a little taken aback when they exited the building. Idling out in the street, was a very fancy 4 window limo. Sesshomaru led the way to the limo and then opened the door. He motioned for Jennifer to slide in first, which she gracefully did.

One after another the two of them went each location. Sesshomaru had been very careful about choosing each and every one based on location and size of the building. Jennifer showed interest in each one, but it wasn't until the last location that Jennifer was ecstatic.

Jennifer had to admit that she could easily imagine a dance club in every single place that Sesshomaru took her too. If she had to choose one place, it wouldn't be difficult. The one problem she had though was that not a single place had the 'it' factor for her.

Sesshomaru seemed to notice that Jennifer was slowly growing more and more tired the farther they went. He wasn't very good at location scouting; he'd always had other employee's do the leg work. Each and every place he'd taken Jennifer so far had been perfectly acceptable to him.

Finally they arrived. Sesshomaru glanced over at Jennifer, noting the growing excitement in her eyes.

Jennifer couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. The outside of the building was already interesting to her. There weren't many windows, and the windows that were there were on the second story. It was a big building, and Jennifer suspected it might have been a warehouse at one point. It was three stories tall with a wide sidewalk out front.

Her opinion of the place grew when they went inside. Although the building was three stories tall, there was only one floor. The building was older then the others, and had a hardwood floor which made Jennifer giggle. She knew that the best dance floor had to be wood. Jennifer ran to the center of the large floor and slowly turned in place. She could see almost everything here. Where the stage for the DJ would be, the VIP lounge, the non alcoholic bar, the 21 and over bar, everything!

"This is it!" Jennifer said with a gasp as she spun to smile happily at Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru was much slower as he walked into the old warehouse. The location was nice, and there was history to the building. He wasn't as completely sure about the inside of the building as Jennifer seemed to be. Other then the wood floor, the place had been stripped. Perhaps an empty building was preferable; it meant that remodeling would be simple.

"If this is it, then let's head back to my office and began signing the documentation." Sesshomaru said as he looked at his watch. They'd spent the majority of the day going from location to location, and it was already well past 7pm.

Jennifer nodded her excitement far from being gone.

The rest of the night was filled with paper work and dinner. Sesshomaru had insisted on taking her out for dinner after everything was done. From there she was given a lift back to where she had parked her car.

Back in her apartment, Jennifer began dialing her phone. The phone rang once, twice, and a third time before a male voice answered.

"Miroku, you'll never guess what I did all day!" Jennifer squealed out to her closest friend.

"I haven't heard you like this since you first moved here." Miroku commented from his end of the line. He was stretched out on his sofa with Sango sitting next to him. Sango glanced at Miroku curiously.

"Well I haven't done anything this big before!" Jennifer giggled and was bouncing around her apartment. She was just too excited to hold it in.

"Are you going to tell me?" Miroku asked with a sigh.

"No, you have to guess!"

"You went to a strip club and decided you're in love with women." Miroku felt Sango slap him on the back of the head but he couldn't help but grin.

"Seriously? I tell you to guess and you go with a perverted answer?" Jennifer knew her friend well enough that his answer didn't bother her.

"The DVD of the new NCIS season you ordered finally arrived?" Miroku asked blandly. He had no idea why his friend happened to enjoy that show.

"I wish. No, I started a business."

Jennifer could have sworn she heard something hit the floor. "Miroku?"

"What kind of business?" Sango had picked up the phone after Miroku had fallen off the sofa.

"Oh hi Sango. A dance club! It's going to be called 'Masquerade' and all the employees are going to wear masks! There are going to be guest performers too that will wear masks!" Jennifer giggled and spun around in a circle.

Sango was speechless for a moment. She wasn't as close to Jennifer as Miroku was, but she knew how shy and quiet Jennifer usually was. A dance club was…completely opposite of what Sango would have suspected.

"A-a dance club?"

"Yup! I was even able to do things anonymously! I've got the building picked out and construction will start as soon as we can get the blue prints drawn out." Jennifer flopped down on her couch and sighed.

"You're going to need employees you know, and they'll need to know who you are. You can't do everything anonymously." Sango commented seriously.

Jennifer bit her lip as she thought about that. "Well…that's where I was hoping you and Miroku could come in."

Sango's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Jennifer laughed nervously. "Well I was hoping you and Miroku could work at the club with me. With your strength you'd be perfect as a bouncer! And Miroku has that old sound system and mixer that he could use to be a DJ. And well…" Jennifer paused. "You guys know more people then me. Maybe you could make a few suggestions? I trust you."

Sango sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Let's do it Sango, it'd be fun!" Miroku commented from the floor. He had just attempted to grope her, which had resulted in her foot on his stomach.

"Let me think about it Jennifer. I'll see who I can round up that might want too." Sango said as she finally let Miroku up.

"Thanks Sango. You're the greatest. Don't be too hard on Miroku ok? I still have plans with him for this weekend."

Sango smiled and nodded. "Alright. I'll call you some time tomorrow. Have a good night Jen."

"Night Sango." Both phones were clicked off and Jennifer relaxed. Even if Sango didn't want too, she knew she could count on Miroku. He was always telling her she needed to get out in the world and actually do something exciting. A dance club was definitely exciting.

Jennifer fell asleep like that, stretched out on her couch, the phone cradled against her chest. She dreamt about her dance club, about how much fun everything was going to be.

~~

A/N: Sooo….here's chapter 2 for the few of you that are watching for updates. Next chapter we'll see Jennifer meeting Inu-Yasha, Kagome, and Shippo.


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